Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011
The Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011 (H.R. 1981) is a bill designed to facilitate the enforcement of laws relating to the prosecution of child pornography. The bill was introduced by Representative Lamar Smith in May 2011. The bill passed the United States House Judiciary Committee on July 28, 2011, by a vote of 19-10.[1] A Congressional Budget Office report on the costs of enacting the bill was released on October 12, 2011.[2] The next step for the bill would be a debate in the House of Representatives.
Opponents of the bill have voiced privacy concerns over the broad access to information granted by the legislation.[3]
History
On May 25, 2011, Representative Lamar Smith of Texas introduced the bill. It was co-sponsored by 25 other Representatives of the House.[4] On July 28, 2011 the bill was passed by the House Judiciary Committee. As of January 2012, the bill had 39 co-sponsors.[5]
Scope
This bill would introduce tougher sentencing for offenders and would make it a crime to financially facilitate the sale, distribution and purchase of child pornography.[1] Section 4 would require providers to retain a log of customer IP addresses, linked to "corresponding customer or subscriber information" listed in subsection (c)(2) of 18 USC 2703, for at least a year. This includes, but is not limited to forcing Internet service providers to keep track of and retain their customers' information -- including their name, address, phone number, credit card numbers and bank account numbers. The bill also protects internet service providers from civil actions resulting from the loss of data stored as a requirement of the bill.
Cost
On October 12, 2011 a report[2] on the financial impact of the bill was released. This report stated that the cost to the government would be minimal and that the private companies providing Internet services would pay over $200 million in costs. Costs would include servers for storage of the user data.[2]
Controversy
Like the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), H.R. 1981 is facing heavy bipartisan backlash. The bill is being used as a subterfuge to pass sections of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement into the U.S. Congress. Lamar Smith authored and introduced both bills.
Supporters of H.R. 1981 include the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the National Center for Victims of Crime. Opponents of the bill include the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the American Library Association.[5] Critics have suggested that this bill was a backdoor way to track Internet usage, compromising civil liberties. Representative Zoe Lofgren, (D-Calif.), one of the most vocal opponents of the bill, presented an amendment to rename the bill the "Keep Every American's Digital Data for Submission to the Federal Government Without a Warrant Act."[6]
Supporters have argued that because the IP addresses of offenders change over time, law enforcement needs to be able to subpoena dynamic ip addresses in order to track offenders after an offense has occurred.[7] Lamar Smith, the bill's sponsor, said that: "Some Internet service providers currently retain these [IP] addresses for business purposes. But the period of retention varies widely among providers, from a few days to a few months. The lack of uniform data retention impedes the investigation of Internet crimes." Smith also stated that the number of child pornography cases has grown by 150% per year over the past ten years.[8]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Committee Passes Bipartisan Bill to Protect Children from Child Pornography". The United States House of Representatives. July 28, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
{{cite news}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ a b c "Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate" (PDF), Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act, Congressional Budget Office, Oct. 12, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-24
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Friedersdorf, Conor (August 1, 2011). "The Legislation That Could Kill Internet Privacy for Good". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
- ^ "Bill Summary & Status: HR 1981". The Library of Congress. May 25, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
{{cite news}}:|first=missing|last=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "H.R.1981: Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011 - U.S. Congress". OpenCongress. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
- ^ Harris, Leslie (August 9, 2011). "The 'Just in Case You're a Criminal Someday' Act". ABC News. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- ^ Adhikari, Richard (September 12, 2001). "Privacy: Can an Anti-child Porn Bill Go Too Far?". Technology News. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- ^ Gross, Grant (July 28, 2011). "House Panel Votes to Require ISPs to Keep Customer Records". PC World. Retrieved 2011-10-25.